By Craig Timberg
Washington Post Staff Writer
Monday, January 28, 2002; Page B02

Jesse L. Jackson urged U.S. officials yesterday to give $1 million a day in humanitarian aid to Congo, saying the world
community has a responsibility to help rebuild the Central African nation ravaged by the eruption of Mount Nyiragongo.

Jackson said the initial U.S. aid package of $6.3 million would not do enough to relieve suffering in Goma, an eastern border town where a volcanic eruption Jan. 17 covered one-third of the city in lava, killing dozens and chasing hundreds of thousands of people from their homes.

He also called on military officials to airlift to Goma $5 million in medical aid collected by a Baptist relief group. The moves, Jackson said, would start to reverse what he described as a long history of mistreating Africa.

"This is a strategic moment to show something different in policy and rapid response," said Jackson, president of the
Rainbow/PUSH Coalition. "There's a legacy of exploitation. There's a legacy of neglect. It's time to break that cycle."

Mount Nyiragongo, about 12 miles north of Goma, poured lava through the heart of the city, destroying most of the
downtown business district and wiping out entire neighborhoods in the city of 400,000. Congo, formerly known as Zaire, has a troubled history of war and instability. It also is the source of a rare mineral used in cell phones worldwide.

The U.S. Agency for International Development has made two relief flights, taking 40,000 wool blankets, 35,000 five-gallon jugs of water, 5,000 dust masks and 300 rolls of plastic sheeting for makeshift shelters. It also has a disaster response team assessing needs and coordinating relief efforts.

The United States gave $88 million in general food and medical relief to Congo last year.

The Unites States has been the world's largest contributor of assistance since the eruption, though there was an initial delay when a flood of refugees in neighboring Rwanda did not materialize and aid had to be redirected to Goma, said Michelle King, an AID spokeswoman.

"The U.S. recognizes all disasters equally," she said. "We're there, and it certainly is something we're paying attention to."

She said the government does not usually airlift private aid contributions, but it will consider the group's request.

Congolese officials say far more aid is urgently needed. Ambassador Faida Mitifu appeared with Jackson yesterday at a
news conference at Shiloh Baptist Church in Northwest Washington to underscore the need for more long-term assistance in rebuilding Goma.

"These people still need homes. They still need schools. They still need health care. They need the basics of daily life," Mitifu said. "The international community has a moral responsibility to come to the aid of Congo."

Also at the news conference was John Rucker Jones Jr., an official with Baptist World Aid, a Falls Church group that has collected antibiotics, bandages, vitamins, foot ointments and other medical supplies from pharmaceutical companies. It would take six weeks to ship the goods from a warehouse in Georgia to Goma.

"Baptist World Aid would very much like to send that by air," said Jones, who estimated that the supplies would fill a C-141 transport plane. "This would expedite $5 million of aid."

Jackson said he would call Secretary of State Colin L. Powell today to ask for use of a military transport to deliver the aid.

Jackson said the United States, with its legacy of slave labor from Africa and its history of backing despotic leaders on the continent, owes Congo massive assistance such as that being provided to Afghanistan. He estimated the total cost at $365 million -- $1 million a day for at least one year.

2002 The Washington Post Company

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